Defense leads Pitt to victory over Wake Forest in ACC championship game
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Through 12 games, Kenny Pickett made every throw, broke all the records and made the end zone his personal playground. When it came time for No. 13 Saturday night on the ACC’s biggest stage, Pitt’s defensive players all but shouted, “Make room for us. It’s our turn.”...
Pitt women’s volleyball team advances to Sweet 16 with win over rival Penn State
Kayla Lund was elated to have an opportunity to take down Penn State, one of the Pitt women’s volleyball team’s oldest tormentors, Saturday night at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers graduate student and outside hitter decided to take advantage of the extra year provided because of the pandemic before Pitt...
Pitt men’s soccer falls to Notre Dame in NCAA quarterfinals
The Pitt men’s soccer team was ousted from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night after falling to No. 4-seeded Notre Dame in penalty kicks. With the quarterfinal game tied 1-1 after regulation and overtime, the Fighting Irish (14-5-4) held a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks to decide the match. No....
Pitt loses ACC opener to Virginia on late putbackVideo
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jayden Gardner scored 15 points, including a last-second putback of a missed 3-pointer that bounced in, lifting Virginia to a 57-56 win over Pitt in the ACC opener for both teams Friday night. In a game that saw four ties and 14 lead changes, Gardner scored the...
Pitt, Penn State women’s volleyball teams to meet in 2nd round of NCAA TournamentVideo
After earning victories in Friday’s opening round, the Pitt and Penn State women’s volleyball teams will square off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. At Petersen Events Center, Penn State opened the evening with a 3-1 victory over Towson. The Nittany Lions (21-10) started with a...
Take 5: Right here, right now may be best chance for Pitt to win ACC championship
For years, Pitt football players have gathered in a circle before practice and chanted “ACC championship” before going about the day’s business. Pitt gets to take those words and make them real Saturday night when it confronts Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., with the conference...
Road gets tougher as Pitt basketball preps for ACC opener at Virginia
No matter what the Pitt basketball team has been through this season — good or bad — coach Jeff Capel is adamant about the Panthers not dwelling on it. Not with the ACC opener looming Friday night at Virginia. “We had a really good practice today, attitudes have been good,...
Amid college coaching carousel, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi declares, ‘I’m all about loyalty’
Sitting in Pat Narduzzi’s office inside Pitt’s South Side training facility is an old, folded-up piece of paper that his father, Bill Narduzzi, kept in his pocket. Why does he keep it? “It’s called loyalty,” Narduzzi said of what the words on that scrap of paper represent. “I’m all about...
Pat Narduzzi proudly reveals how his daughter predicted Pitt’s return to ACC Championship Game
Pat Narduzzi remembers the empty feeling that engulfed him and his team after Pitt’s 42-10 loss to Clemson in the 2018 ACC Championship Game. “After the game, you’re disappointed. You have your head down. ‘What the heck happened?’ ” he said Thursday, sharing his feelings with reporters. But something else...
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett ready to play after bout with flu
The words “Kenny Pickett has the flu” rank up there with “Ben has a sore elbow” in terms of creating panic among area football fans. But Pickett assured reporters Wednesday that his bout with the flu was temporary and he will be “good to go” Saturday when Pitt meets Wake...
WVU releases 2022 football schedule, including renewal of the Backyard Brawl with Pitt
Only days after the end of the regular season, West Virginia is already planning for 2022. WVU athletic director Shane Lyons announced Wednesday six home dates, plus the renewal of the Backyard Brawl with Pitt, on the 2022 football schedule. The season opens Sept. 3 at Heinz Field with the...
Pitt will welcome West Virginia, Penn State to PNC Park for games in 2022
Pitt baseball at PNC Park is becoming an annual tradition. For the third consecutive season, the Panthers will serve as hosts at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for games against West Virginia and Penn State. The WVU game is April 19; Penn State arrives May 17. “A special thanks...
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett named ACC Player of the Year
Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, who hit the historic aerial milestones of 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns this season, was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year by landslide votes. Pickett received 52 of 64 first-place votes for Player of the Year in balloting by a...
John Hugley scores 25 points but Pitt loses on late put-back
Jeff Capel stood for nearly all 40 minutes of Pitt’s 54-53 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center. He directed traffic on the court, encouraged his players, sometimes lowered his head when a play didn’t work, perhaps occasionally thought about slamming his hand on the scorer’s table...
Pitt defense hopes to keep evolving from group that lost to Clemson in 2018 ACC championship game
Three years ago at the ACC championship game, Pitt linebacker Phil Campbell III was a reserve safety who got on the field long enough to record one assisted tackle. He was in another world back then, like many of his future teammates. • Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was still in...
21 Pitt players receive All-ACC recognition, led by Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison
In the midst of preparations for the ACC championship game, Pitt received a welcome distraction Tuesday morning. The Panthers placed a conference-high 12 players on the All-ACC first, second and third teams, plus nine who received honorable mention. Leading the way are three first-team selections: quarterback Kenny Pickett, wide receiver...
Pat Narduzzi says Pitt learned from mistakes to reach ACC Championship Game
With Heisman and Biletnikoff candidates leading Pitt to its best season in four decades, the situation couldn’t have been much sweeter this season. Actually, if the goal is perfection, there’s always room for improvement. Pitt lost only two games during the regular season by a total of seven points. One...
Pitt women’s volleyball earns No. 3 overall seed for NCAA TournamentVideo
The Pitt women’s volleyball team, which came up just short of earning a spot in the Final Four last season, is among the favorites to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Sunday night, the Panthers (26-3, 13-3 ACC) received the No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament....
Former Pitt fan will lead Wake Forest against Panthers in ACC championship game
Dave Clawson rattled off the names of some of the greatest players in Pitt football history as if he grew up rooting for them. Which he did. “I grew up being a huge Pitt Panther fan,” Wake Forest’s coach said. “I would listen to games on the radio. That was...
AP Top 25: Michigan rises to No. 2; Oklahoma State to 5th; Pitt up to No. 17
Michigan jumped to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday and Oklahoma State joined the top five for the first time since 2015. Georgia was a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank for the eighth consecutive week. For the fourth...
Pitt beats Syracuse, wins 10th regular-season game for 1st time in 40 years
To Pat Narduzzi, who won’t be satisfied unless and until he’s holding that ACC Championship trophy around midnight Dec. 4, what happened Saturday night in the Carrier Dome was more worthy of a pat on the back than excessive praise. Winning 10 games by defeating Syracuse, 31-14, was nice. “Monumental,”...
Pitt men’s soccer advances to NCAA Elite 8 with shutout win over Hofstra
The Pitt men’s soccer team is back in the NCAA quarterfinals after blanking Hofstra, 4-0, in a Sweet Sixteen game Saturday evening at snowy Ambrose Urbanic Field in Oakland. The fifth-seeded Panthers (13-5-1) got two goals from junior Raphael Crivello and additional goals from sophomores Filip Mirkovic and Bertin Jacquesson....
UMBC rides hot 3-point shooting to build 1st-half lead, beat Pitt at home
UMBC devised a plan to counter its size disadvantage against Pitt by using its quickness as a weapon, forcing the Panthers to scramble by penetrating the lane and kicking the ball to the perimeter. The Retrievers repeatedly got open looks, sinking 11 3-point shots in the first half to build...
No. 21 Wake Forest beats BC 41-10, will play Pitt for ACC titleVideo
BOSTON — No. 21 Wake Forest earned a spot in the ACC championship game, getting three passing touchdowns and one more on the ground from Sam Hartman to beat Boston College, 41-10, on Saturday. The Demon Deacons (10-2, 7-1 ACC) will attempt to claim their first league title since 2006...
Pitt Take 5: With Syracuse, ACC title game looming, curious Pat Narduzzi tweet surfaces
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi often talks about grabbing an early advantage in games to make managing the second half easier. It’s even more important Saturday at the Carrier Dome. If Pitt (9-2, 6-1) can build a sizable lead against Syracuse (5-6, 2-5), it will give Narduzzi confidence to put some...
